A NASA apparatus from the surface of the Moon will take the first photographs of the Earth's magnetic field, as well as its “breathing,” writes LiveScience.
We are talking about the Lunar Environment Heliospheric X-ray Imager (LEXI), which sees X-rays reflected from the Earth's magnetosphere. It is part of a payload that will be launched into space aboard Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Lander on January 15.
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After landing on the surface of the Moon, the device will turn on and direct its gaze to Earth. It will take pictures of the planet's magnetic field, capturing low-energy X-rays that bounce off the surface.
" When the solar wind is very strong, the magnetosphere will shrink as it presses closer to Earth, and then expand as the solar wind weakens,” says Hange Connor, an astrophysicist at Goddard Space Flight Center and LEXI director at NASA..
The Earth's magnetosphere is formed by liquid metal inside the planet's molten core.. It protects the Earth and all life from deadly cosmic rays, as well as from the solar wind that the Sun launches.
When cosmic rays hit Earth's magnetosphere, they are either reflected back into space or captured along magnetic field lines before hitting the poles in a process called magnetic reconnection.
As a result, magnetic storms appear on Earth, which are not only responsible for amazing auroras, but also pose a danger to electrical equipment.
Therefore, the search for answers in this area is extremely important, in particular, scientists want to know how cosmic particles fall to Earth. Does it happen in bursts or all at once?.
“We want to understand how nature behaves, and by understanding this, we can help protect our infrastructure in space,” Connor said..
Although this month will be the first time LEXI has acquired a complete picture of Earth's magnetosphere, this is not the first time the instrument has flown into space.. In 2012, LEXI, then called STORM (Sheath Transport Observer for the Redistribution of Mass), was launched into space aboard a sounding rocket to collect X-ray images before falling back to Earth.
After repairing some key components and optics, the instrument is now ready to fly again.
" Many branches of physics may be esoteric or difficult to understand without years of specialized training, but it will be science that you can see,"
Let us remind you that a phenomenon has been discovered that affects the Earth’s magnetic field.. Study finds lightning can create energetic electromagnetic waves that travel extremely far into space.